Subject: Cowichan River closure- a portion of the river

[Derby]

Subject: Cowichan River closure



Hello all,



This note is to inform this distribution that effective tomorrow December 1, 2023 through April 30th, 2024, the portion of the Cowichan River between the 70.2-Mile Trestle and Skutz Falls will be closed to recreational angling. Other Regulation will remain as printed in the current synopsis.



This closure was approved today by the Director and is a result from a large-scale fish mortality event in the summer of 2023. The objective of this closure is to protect stream resident trout and facilitate the distribution and unfettered spawning of steelhead adults to maximise recruitment in this stream reach most severely impacted by the fish kill.



We understand that this emergency variation order may disrupt planned use of the Cowichan River and create some confusion in the angling community. We will do our best to update regional websites and help to inform users. Please feel free to forward this note to other users of the Cowichan and be patient with the angling community as we quickly transition into these new regulations.





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Mike McCulloch
Anadromous Fisheries Specialist | Fish & Wildlife Section

Ministry of Water Land and Resource Stewardship | West Coast Region | Nanaimo | BC

Mike.McCulloch@gov.bc.ca



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[Fishwhistler]

Stoltz to vimmy is going to be a solid line of drift boats now

 

[onefish]

The cowichan is the last viable steelhead river on the east coast of the island. It is also the only one whose steelhead don't have a protected area in the headwaters for spawning and rearing. This change in the regulations is long overdue IMO.

 

[Derby]

This latest protection is do because a big trout warm water kill that also had some impacts on the steelhead smolts...

 

[eroyd]

Why not close it all above Skutz in this emergency situation. I have seen far more spawning steelhead in area's above the 70.2 trestle. Unfortunately there are those who can't resist casting at Steelhead on redds in desperation to say they caught one. None of it will mean anything if they don't raise that weir!

 

[Derby]

I believe they are looking at the construction of a new weir to be completed in the next 4-5years.... this closer is by a varience order to allow it to be reviewed yearly... The closer is about the high water temp. trout and steelhead smolt kill this summer with majority in that stretch..

 

[wildmanyeah]

I thought this was an interesting retrospective

Cowichan River loosing Steelhead hatchery

The Provincial Government has decided it is too costly and not required. Down to one hatchery river now below Hardy.

sportfishingbc.com

 

[onefish]

This latest protection is do because a big trout warm water kill that also had some impacts on the steelhead smolts...

Yup, thats what they are saying all right. However, they have been trying to get this section closed for years but the pushback from certain guide interests has stopped it up until now.

 

[Derby]

This is all about a vast amount of smolts missing and dieing in this particular area based on best available data... interesting you say interest groups because I can say there are certain guides and interest groups would like it either have it all closed up there or expanded the closer to creap to below the falls... I personal follow best available science to base a opinion..

 

[fishinforever]

Creep below the falls because the “guides” without rafts can’t launch until Stolz?

 

[jim morrow]

Is it still a good area to steelie fish? the highway bridge, just below it used to be fine, a bit overgrown...

 

[westwardho]

We all need to listen and listen to fish biologists. I say do everything possible to protect the Salmon and Steelhead runs in the Cowichan.
I am old now and have fished it since the 1950's. The Cowichan is a South Island Island treasure.

There are still some wild stocks returning and what about the treasured Brown's....world class!
Give it a break to recover! We don't want it to end up like the South Thompson River!

 

[ship happens]

Anyone have any insight about the sewage treatment process and how it flows into the upper river from the town of cowichan?

 

[Derby]

I believe that work is tied into the weir work

 

[Fins -n- Skins]

It was the help of Biologists that got the Hatchery Steelhead program cancelled on the Cowichan. Now with a large smolt die off that program is needed more than ever. They saved $75,000 to cut the program. Read that thread Wild posted as it’s a good read but flawed. Most of us fishing those years would not report to the creel guys on our numbers. We didn’t trust them and I guess it bit us in the butt. But there is time to save the Cowichan if they bring that program back. Guess we have Brown trout to fish for lol.

 

[Hyde-N-Seek]

Ya, it’s really too bad and it feels like they shut the hatchery down without proper consulting all interest holders or try different rearing methods first. It would be really hard to bring it back up again, am afraid. Once it’s shutdown, then it’s really difficult to bring it back up again. That’s how government works.

As a frequent fisher and drifter for the Cowichan, I noticed that it’s the later month runs that really suffered from no hatchery. It’s like a ghost town these days in March and April from Stoltz to Vimmy. The hatchery steelheads used to be a strong presence during those months. The early month is still decent for January and February with wild fish only. If we get a fish or two during a drift these days, it’s considered a great day, whereas before, it’s 5-7 fish a day drifting when the hatchery were still going.

 

[onefish]

The fishing before hatchery fish (80's) was fantastic, with hatchery fish, fantastic fading to fair, now without hatchery fish, poor to mostly **** poor. For those too young to have experienced it this is my take on how I felt about a typical drift of the Cowichan in the guts of steelhead season,(this is for myself and my fishing partner) Fantastic day= 20+ fish landed and was not uncommon Good day= 10-15 fish landed and was not uncommon, Fair day = 5-9 fish, Poor day= 2-4 fish, **** Poor day= 0-1 fish, we never counted fish hooked, or bites, or the float went down or it might have been a fish, these were strictly fish that were caught and the hook needed to be removed before being released.
Regarding the Stoltz to Vimmy drift, the upper half of that drift ( Stoltz to Sandy pool ) is now largely garbage water. So much of the excellent holding water has been washed away, or filled in, or plugged up with jams.
If you never crossed the suspension foot bridge at the bible camp ( it went right across the river ), then you are not old enough to know what the Cowichan used to be like.
Sadly, we are now fishing a river that is a mere shadow of what it used to be.

 

[mikep]

Fished it in the 90s with my dad. Cool river, got my first hatchery steelhead there. I think we averaged like 5-10 fish a drift on the lower river. Then Fished it out of my own boat in the early 2000s, caught some more steelhead......haven't been back in 10-15 years or so. Really cool river with BIG fish. To bad it's a shadow like pretty much everywhere else.....

 

[Fins -n- Skins]

Any reports ? Been out a couple of times and nada !! Haven’t really heard of any fish being caught that can be confirmed

 

[Derby]

Hearing odd one..not arm burning by any means